Most commercial buildings, hotels, hospitals and nursing homes are required by law to include fire extinguishing sprinkler systems incorporated into the building's structure. These sprinkler systems are generally housed in the ceilings of buildings, or the ceilings of each floor in a building, and are comprised of pipes of varying diameters. The systems are typically fed directly from a city water main, and are designed to deliver large amounts of water to a fire upon activation by the heat emanating from the fire. The pipes of a typical sprinkler system run from the water main, through the walls or core of the building, and along the space above ceilings. Smaller pipes drop off from the pipes in the ceiling spaces. Such smaller pipes, or “drops” provide water to the sprinkler heads located in the ceilings of the rooms or areas serviced by the sprinkler system. A sprinkler head is typically located at the end of each pipe “drop.” Water is contained in the pipes at almost all times, as needed in case of a fire.
Generally, when a sprinkler system needs to be repaired the entire system of pipes must be drained of the water, especially when the sprinkler heads must be removed and replaced. Drainage of the system generally occurs at a main drain, often called a gang drain, that is typically located outside the building, or outside each floor of the building. Draining the system entails opening the main drain valve, and waiting until the water stops flowing out of the main drain.
However, this method does not drain the entire system. Stagnant trapped water, often called “black water,” remains in the “drops” at each sprinkler head. Black water is malodorous, dirty and appears to contain bacteria rendering it particularly unsafe in clean or sterile environments, such as hospitals, nursing homes and laboratories. The existence of the black water in the sprinkler drops makes the removal of each sprinkler head, as needed for repairs and replacements, a messy, time-consuming process.
To remove a sprinkler head, the person removing the sprinkler head must carry a container up a ladder, and hold the container beneath the drop while the sprinkler head is removed. As the head is removed, the black water drains from the drop. Too often, the black water spills or splashes out of the container onto the surrounding walls and/or the floor below.
One potential problem with using a vacuum system to establish a pressure differential within the pipes of a sprinkler system in order to remove the black water would be to dislodge the gaskets in the system pipes. Gaskets are used in sprinkler system pipelines to seal the joints where two ends of pipes come together. The gaskets are held in place by a metal casing or coupling, internal pressure provides the final seal to hold the gaskets in place. However, if the vacuum pressure is too high inside the pipes, the gaskets may be drawn out of the couplings and out of the pipes, thus causing breaches in the pipelines where the pipes are joined.
As a result, there is a need in the art for a clean, efficient method to repair sprinkler systems and remove sprinkler heads without damaging the gaskets at the pipe joints.